Palapye.com News Blog

Archive for January 20th, 2010

GABORONE – Botswanas overall business confidence has increased for 2010 on the backdrop of a global economic recovery.

According to Motswedi securities 2009 financial market review, the satisfaction with current business conditions has risen to 47 percent and this is maintained for the first half of 2010 adding that for 2010 as a whole, confidence has risen to 59 percent indicating that businesses are now more confident in both domestic and international economic conditions.

Despite the positive economic growth, the review indicates that the year 2010 is still going to be a challenging year although much better than 2009 as the recovery of the global economy is expected to filter through to the local economy.

It revealed that inflation is to remain in a single digit in 2010 based on stable food and fuel prices on [continue reading]

Talks were supposed to have restarted on Saturday but were postponed to Monday because of the absence of ZANU PF negotiator Nicholas Goche who was in Tanzania, reportedly on government business.
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MDC-M lead negotiator Welshman Ncube confirmed to SW Radio Africa on Monday that the talks were due to begin on Monday evening but ruled out any time frame or deadline for the negotiations. Ncube told us the talks were due to start at 6pm. But at 7pm we contacted Elton Mangoma, the co-negotiator from the MDC-T, who told us of the no-show by Chinamasa and Goche.

‘There are no talks tonight. We were supposed to have started but there is no-one from ZANU PF,’ Magoma confirmed.

Earlier on Monday Ncube had told us of the difficulties they were facing [continue reading]

The proposed first and second phases of the Zambezi Integrated Agro-Commercial Development Project (ZIACDP) is estimated to cost about $780 million (P5.4 billion) in setting up the water infrastructure alone.

The ZIACDP is a three-pronged project whose first primary objective includes extracting water from the Zambezi into a 20,000 hectares greenfield farming area about 50, 000 kilometres from Kazungula. The second phase includes taking the water to the Pandamatenga area to irrigate the current farms or the new farming area that will be created.

In an interview with Mmegi, Agriculture Hub coordinator Neil Fitt, says that the project, which is not financed by the national budget or NDP10 due to its magnitude, is expected to be [continue reading]

The Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) has called on procurers to source their goods from local Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMME) as they are guaranteed quality.

Neo Mahube, LEA corporate stakeholder and communications manager, made these remarks at a LEA seminar, last week.

She said LEA would act as an intermediary to supply and ensure the satisfaction of both the procurer as well as the SMMEs.

“Procurement professionals through LEA are able to specify the type of products and services they are looking for, which is then capacitated by LEA and eventually SMMEs will deliver the required product,” she said.

Mahube said that procurers shouldn’t overlook local products as LEA was there to advice SMMEs on improving their [continue reading]

At long last, there might be justice for the family of the late Mothusi Sephiri who was shot dead by the police in Maun early last year. But this will only be determined by what an inquest, which was instituted by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DDP), will finalise.

An inquest will call for criminal prosecution if it is established that there was an element of negligence. The inquest started its hearings in Maun last month. It has since postponed the hearings to next month. Maun Magistrate Clifford Foroma is the coroner for the inquest.

One of the people who has testified at the inquest is a police officer, Gaositwe Nyame who was part of the patrol team. Nyame was the leader of the patrol team.Sephiri was shot at Sanyedi ward in Maun earlier last year, in what appeared to have been a case of mistaken identity following an attempted street robbery. Even the police have admitted that [continue reading]

Passengers on domestic flights leaving OR Tambo International Airport will be faced with stricter regulations on hand luggage from Wednesday, the Airports Company of SA said.

Economy class passengers would be restricted to one bag weighing no more than 7kg and one laptop. Business class passengers would be allowed two bags, not exceeding 7kg each, and a laptop, spokesman Solomon Makgale said on in a statement on Tuesday.

The bag may not be larger than 56cm by 36cm by 23cm.

The restrictions would be implemented at Cape Town and Durban international airports from February 6. They were part of Acsa’s preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup and intended to [continue reading]

Drivers of Selebi-Phikwe’s ambitious economic diversification initiative are hoping to start the spadework on several projects in April, with all estimates showing that the national coffers will need strong additional support to prop up the various plans.

The initiative is being driven by the Selebi-Phikwe Economic Diversification Unit, set up within the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning three years ago. Projects planned for Phikwe’s diversification include tourism activities around the Letsibogo Dam as well as activities and leisure facilities in and around Selebi-Phikwe township. Other plans revolve around the agricultural and agro-processing, industrial, education and service and high technology sectors.

At least P13 million will be needed for the development of primary works around Letsibogo Dam and another P28 million for related small project funding. According to [continue reading]

The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) is outraged at reports that journalists in Mpumalanga are on a hit list targeting corruption busters in the province.

The existence of the hit list first surfaced in Sunday World of January 10 and has been repeated in Friday’s Mail & Guardian. So far two provincial government officials said to have been on the list have been murdered. Samuel Mpatlanyane, Mpumalanga’s sports and culture department head of communications, was shot dead by assassins during the night last week.
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Vusi Shongwe, the province’s sports and culture minister, has blamed the murder on the same people who killed Mbombela municipality speaker Jimmy Mohlala. Mohlala was similarly executed at home in front of his son last January. He was a witness in a disciplinary hearing concerning financial mismanagement related to the Mbombela Stadium, a Fifa 2010 World Cup Venue.

The murder and threatened murder of potential witnesses and journalists puts a nasty twist to [continue reading]